Goldman Sachs warns AI infrastructure boom could face growing investment risks

According to a Reuters report, Solomon made the comments during a conference call with analysts discussing the bank’s quarterly financial results. He noted that political debates ahead of elections, along with subsequent decisions by state and local authorities, could create an increasingly uncertain environment for data centre projects.

Growing Opposition from Local Communities

The expansion of data centres, which provide the computing power required to train and operate artificial intelligence models, is facing growing opposition from local communities across the United States. Key concerns include high electricity consumption, potential increases in electricity bills and the environmental footprint of these facilities.

Solomon noted that these concerns add another layer of uncertainty for investors, as the approval and implementation of new projects depend to a significant extent on decisions by local authorities and acceptance by residents.

The issue is particularly relevant to the real estate and infrastructure markets, as data centres have become one of the fastest-growing investment categories, requiring substantial land, electricity capacity and supporting infrastructure.

Investment Exceeding $10 Trillion by 2032

The scale of this investment expansion is highlighted in a new study by Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Professor of Finance at Columbia Business School, presented at a Brookings Institution conference.

According to the study, the development of artificial intelligence is expected to require annual resources equivalent to approximately 3.6% of US GDP by 2032, with the total economic cost exceeding $10 trillion.

At the same time, the increasing complexity of financing structures used to build this infrastructure is creating potential systemic risks. Higher financing costs and interest rate pressures could reduce expected returns, making certain projects less attractive to investors.

Solomon nevertheless stressed that Goldman Sachs continues to see significant business opportunities in the market, expecting the expansion of AI to be accompanied by substantial investment in infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs Strengthens Its Position in the AI Market

Goldman Sachs is seeking to play an active role in financing and developing the artificial intelligence ecosystem by leveraging the breadth of its financial services.

The bank is collaborating with Nvidia, which announced in August a partnership with six major financial institutions to develop computing platforms designed to attract more than $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.

The development highlights both the scale of the capital requirements generated by artificial intelligence and the increasingly important role of banks and institutional investors in financing data centres.